Gay flag with triangle
Adding intersex representation to the Pride flag
When the LGBTQIA+ community fought help against the police raid of Stonewall Inn in June , there was not yet a universal pride flag. It would receive another 9 years until Gilbert Baker designed the community’s first symbol of pride into what we now realize as the rainbow flag. Since then, Baker’s design has not only been reimagined to incorporate people of tint and transgender folk, but has encouraged many communities under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella to create their own flag to further represent gay identities. It wouldn’t be until July that Morgan Carpenter would create the first intersex flag.
Intersex is a broad term that describes people who execute not fit the modern interpretation of the gender binary because of sex characteristics. While the word intersex became common in the early 20th century, intersex activists acquire since reclaimed the word and their medical autonomy since the beginning of the intersex movement in the sdelayed s (Source: Them).
The intersex flag is a way for the community to unite and unify
In , Cooper Hewitt hung the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Celebration flag on its south-facing facade. The installation celebrates LGBTQ+ Pride Month and demonstrates the evolution of inclusivity in the layout of Pride flags.
The Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride flag, installed at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in the Arthur Ross Terrace & Garden. Installation produced by Molly Engelman and Dillon Goldschlag. Photo by Ann Sunwoo.
The Intersex-Inclusive Progress Celebration flag, installed at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum in the Arthur Ross Terrace & Garden. Installation produced by Molly Engelman and Dillon Goldschlag. Photo by Ann Sunwoo.
Designed in by Valentino Vecchietti, the Intersex-Inclusive Progress Pride flag incorporates a field of yellow and a purple circle—the elements of the intersex flag designed in by Morgan Carpenter—to symbolize intersex inclusion. The yellow represents an alternative to blue and pink, often associated with the male/female gender binary. The circle symbolizes wholeness and expresses the need for autonomy and integrity.
You might be familiar with the six-colored rainbow flag that is widely used to represent the LGBTQ+ community. But did you know that this is a relatively new rendition of the original?
The original flag (shown here) was designed by activist, veteran, drag queen, and artist, Gilbert Baker, and made its debut at the San Francisco Homosexual and Lesbian Freedom Day Pride in He was inspired by the Rolling Stones song She’s a Rainbow, and the s hippies movement, assigning each paint with a specific meaning:
Pink: Sex (later removed)
Red: Life
Orange: Healing
Yellow: Sunlight
Green: Nature
Turquoise: Magic (later removed)
Indigo: Serenity
Violet: Spirit
The evolution to the six-colored flag used today happened out of practicality.
After the parade in , demand for the Identity festival Flag increased, but the heated pink fabric was difficult to find in large quantities. Then, the Paramount Flag Company started making a version out of the standard rainbow colors to help meet demand, and a seven-color pride flag was the new norm.
A year later,
The Progress Pride flag was developed in by agender American artist and artist Daniel Quasar (who uses xe/xyr pronouns). Based on the iconic rainbow flag from , the redesign celebrates the diversity of the LGBTQ community and calls for a more inclusive society. In , the V&A acquired a bespoke applique version of the Progress Pride flag that can be seen on display in the Design – Now gallery.
'Progress' is a reinterpretation of multiple iterations of the pride flag. The authentic 'rainbow flag' was created by Gilbert Baker in to celebrate members of the gay and female homosexual political movement. It comprised eight coloured stripes stacked on top of each other to evoke a rainbow, a symbol of hope. Baker assigned a specific meaning to each colour: pink for sex, red for life, orange for healing, yellow for sunlight, green for innateness, turquoise for magic, indigo for serenity and violet for spirit. A year later the pink and turquoise stripes were dropped owing to a shortage of pink fabric at the time and legibility concerns, resulting in the six-colour rainbow flag most commo